Zenit St. Petersburg come off a strong season in general terms, but it was unable to come through in some of the most crucial moments. Zenit had a great start in the 7DAYS EuroCup and finished first in its regular season group with a 6-2 record. Even though Zenit won its three home games in the Top 16, it allowed 98.7 points per game away from St. Petersburg and lost those three games. In an All-Russian best-of-three quarterfinal playoffs series, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar gave Zenit no chance to advance, getting two easy wins. Ryan Toolson finished the EuroCup season as its third-best scorer (18.9 ppg.) and Stefan Markovic led the competition in assists (9.1 ppg.). Zenit was equally competitive in the VTB League, where it ranked second at the end of the regular season with a 21-3 record - just one win away from mighty CSKA Moscow. It swept VEF Riga in the quarterfinals and had a 2-0 lead against Khimki Moscow Region in the best-of-five semifinals. Khimki rallied for three consecutive wins and prevented Zenit from making its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut this season.

EuroCup

SEASON

COMPETITION

RECORD

FINISH

2016-17

EuroCup

9-7

Quarterfinal

2015-16

EuroCup

13-5

Eighthfinal

2014-15

EuroCup

8-10

Eighthfinal

2012-13

EuroCup

8-4

Last 16

2009-10

EuroCup

3-3

Regular Season

2007-08

ULEB Cup

9-3

Last 32

TOTAL:

50-32

History

Zenit became Triumph Lyubertsy's legal successor in the summer of 2014, but was originally known as Dynamo Moscow Region. A relatively young club, Triumph put itself on the map by reaching back-to-back FIBA Europe Cup final fours in 2004 and 2005 and soon became a regular in the Russian playoffs. Triumph won its 2007-08 ULEB Cup regular season group, but was upset by Artland Dragons in the Last 32 round. Triumph reloaded before the start of the 2008-09 season with big-name signings such as Nenad Krstic, Marcus Goree and Alan Anderson, however the team did not survive the EuroCup Qualifying Rounds. Triumph, however, returned to the Russian League playoffs and reached the Russian Cup title game and the EuroChallenge final four. The club was back in the EuroCup in 2009-10, but did not get past the regular season. Triumph reached the Russian League semifinals in 2012 and made it to the 2012-13 EuroCup Last 16 led by Tywain McKee and Sergey Karasev. In its last season as Triumph, the club made it to the EuroChallenge title game and the VTB League quarterfinals. Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia stopped Triumph in the EuroChallenge final and prevented it from winning its first title. In 2014-15, its first in St. Petersburg, Zenit made it to the EuroCup Eighthfinals before losing against soon-to-be-champion Khimki Moscow Region. It also ranked fourth at the end of the VTB League regular season, but Nizhny Novgorod ended its hopes in the quarterfinals. In the 2015-16 season, along with success in the EuroCup, Zenit had a great domestic run in the VTB League. It finished the regular season in third place and swept Avtodor Saratov in the quarterfinals to make the semifinals for the first time ever. Zenit came within one win of the finals, but lost the series against Unics Kazan in the maximum five games. Last season, Zenit had a 2-0 lead in the VTB League semifinals, but ended up losing to Khimki Moscow Region. It also reached the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs, where it fell to Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in the quarterfinals. Zenit is back to the EuroCup for the seventh time and hoping to use its experience to reach higher than ever in the competition.